A. G. SWAFFIELD

V.

THE ATLANTIC COAST LINE RAILROAD COMPANY AND THE LOUISVILLE & NASHVILLE RAILROAD COMPANY.

Decided June 24, 1904.

1. Cowpeas, like clover and other grasses, are sown and then turned over by the plow for the purpose of soil improvement, but this is not a reason why cowpeas should, in the adjustment of freight rates, be classed as a fertilizer, which is applied directly to the soil; and cowpeas are further distinguished from fertilizer in that fertilizer furnishes the carrier much greater tonnage, cowpeas have much greater value, and the vine as well as the pea itself is used as a food product.

2. The defendant, the L. & N. R. Co., classifies cowpeas in class D of its freight classification, which also includes grain, while the defendant, the A. C. L., imposes a charge of one cent higher than class D rates on cowpeas shipped from South and North Carolina points to New Orleans. Held: That the charge exacted by the A. C. L. is unreasonable and unjust and that cowpeas should be placed by it in class D and carried at the rate fixed for that class.

John A. Smith for complainant.

Ed Baxter for defendants.

REPORT AND OPINION OF THE COMMISSION.

FIFER, Commissioner:

A. G. Swaffield, complainant, a grain broker, whose place of business is in New Orleans, Louisiana, states in his petition

that he institutes this proceeding in behalf of himself and others.

That the defendants, the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad Company and the Louisville & Nashville Railroad Company, exact the following charges per 100 pounds for transporting cowpeas in carloads to New Orleans; from Darlington, Florence, and Sumter, South Carolina, 38 cents, and from Bennettsville, S. C., 40 cents.

That cowpeas are shipped in large quantities from South Carolina and other southeastern states to points in Louisiana for fertilizing purposes and should take rates as low as rates established for other kinds of fertilizers; that defendants by exacting charges for the transportation of cowpeas as already stated, are subjecting complainant and others to unjust and unreasonable rates, unjust discrimination and undue and unreasonable prejudice and disadvantage.

In their joint and several answer the defendants admit that the rate on cowpeas, in carloads, from Darlington, Florence, Sumter and Bennettsville, S. C., is as set forth in the petition except that, from Sumter, S. C., the rate to New Orleans, via the Louisville & Nashville Railroad and its connections, is 44 cents and not 38 cents; admitting, however, that from Sumter, S. C., to New Orleans, La., a rate of 38 cents per 100 pounds is available via the Mobile & Ohio Railroad or the Illinois Central Railroad.

Defendants admit that cowpeas are shipped in large quantities from South Carolina and other southeastern states to points in Louisiana; that cowpeas are planted for purposes of soil improvement and may, therefore, in a sense, be said to be used for fertilizing purposes; but deny that, considering the manner in which they are used for such purposes, they should be classed with fertilizers or that rates should be applied on them as low as rates which apply on fertilizers; allege that, in addition to the use of cowpeas for purposes of soil improvement, they are used extensively as food for cattle and by many people as an edi10 I. C. C. REP.

ble, which uses further differentiate the traffic in cowpeas from that in fertilizers; and aver that no shipments of fertilizers are made from Darlington, Florence, Sumter, or, Bennettsville, S. C., to New Orleans or other points in Louisiana, and that no through rates on fertilizers are in force between said South Carolina points and Louisiana points.

FACTS.

The cowpea possesses the power of taking nitrogen from the air and adding it to itself, so that when the vine is turned under with the plow, or its roots are left in the ground, nitrogen is added to the soil, which is thereby enriched to the extent of 100 to 200 pounds of nitrogen per acre, in addition to a quantity of fertilizing matter of organic nature.

In the culture of cotton and sugar cane it is necessary to rotate the crops. Each third year fertilizer must be furnished to give back to the soil that which has been removed from it. Especially is this true of land devoted to the producing of sugar cane and cotton. It is estimated that not less than 500,000 bushels of cowpeas are used each year for this purpose in Louisiana, of which 98 per cent are used in the sugar district; and that 100,000 acres of the vines are turned under in the State annually. Clover turned down by the plow is a strong fertilizer, but it takes two years to do its work, whereas the cowpea takes but one.

The seed cowpeas are bought in Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and other southern states. They are not raised in Louisiana. The Louisiana planters do not cultivate the plant for the seed but for the vine, and they buy seed peas of that variety which will produce the greatest quantity of vine.

The vines of the cowpea are used to some extent as forage, but the use of the plant for this purpose has been largely superseded within the past few years by alfalfa, which possesses several advantages over the pea. Charles Godchaux, who cultivates 20,000 acres, the largest sugar plantation in the State, saves for forage from 25 per cent to 30 per cent of the yield of cowpea vines upon his place.

The Louisiana sugar planter generally sacrifices the feeding value of the cowpea to get the benefit in making a crop of cane, which he best accomplishes by plowing under the vine. However, outside of the region where cane, cotton and rice are the principal crops, cowpea hay is fed to greater or less extent almost everywhere, and the manure returned to the field and used as fertilizer.

Cowpeas are nutritious food for stock when fed like grain, but so long as the peas are worth much more than corn, oats and other grains their use for stock feeding is precluded on the ground of economy.

Cowpeas are used to some extent as an article of table food by both whites and negroes in Louisiana, and more generally perhaps in other states, but cannot be regarded as a staple.

Cowpeas move from points in South Carolina to New Orleans on a blanket rate of 38 cents per 100 pounds; from North Carolina points to New Orleans 40 cents per 100. Fertilizer rates are published from Charleston, but not from the points mentioned in the complaint. If fertilizer were offered to the Atlantic Coast Line from the points mentioned in the complaint to New Orleans, rates would be made by combining rates to and from junction points carrying fertilizer rates.

On combination with Charleston rates from the points mentioned in the petition to New Orleans would be as follows: Darlington, 28 cents per 100; Florence, 2712 cents per 100; Sumter, 27 cents per 100, and Bennettsville, 29 cents per 100.

In comparison with the rates now applied to cowpeas the charge for their movement as a fertilizer to New Orleans would be as follows:

The rate on cowpeas and the rate on corn, carloads, to New Orleans is as follows:

It was testified by the general freight agent of the Atlantic Coast Line south of Charleston that, previous to this complaint, he had never known of a request from any shipper at a South Carolina point for a commercial fertilizer rate on cowpeas.

The Louisville & Nashville Railroad for its lines issues a classification applicable on traffic originating at or destined to points on its line on cowpeas making it the same as class D. Their agent testified respecting this matter that, in fixing this rating for itself, the road felt it was probably better to arrange the matter by classification than by special commodity rate; and in making the calculation as to what it considered would be proper to fix on cowpeas it found that the class D rate would approximate the just rate.

Some of the defendants' witnesses affirm that cowpeas should take a higher rate than class D for the reason that class D is applied on commodities that are very much cheaper than cowpeas. For instance, corn which is in class D delivered at Savannah is worth 69 cents per bushel and oats 54 cents, while at the same market cowpeas are worth about $1.50 per bushel.

The difference in value between cowpeas and commercial fertilizers is quite large. While cowpeas are worth at New Orleans from $3.30 to $4.15 per 100 pounds, commercial fertilizers are worth from 75 cents to $1.00 per 100.

Rates to New Orleans on cowpeas from Tennessee points are much less than from the Carolinas, but this fact is accounted for in part at least by the fact that the distance from Tennessee points is much less.

Defendants have made low rates on fertilizers from Savannah to points in Georgia and from Jacksonville to points in Florida and from Charleston to points in South Carolina to enable farmers to secure fertilizers cheap so that the railways might reap the benefit of the increased production. The Atlantic Coast Line does not participate in the movement of products from New